Another Comeback For WVU
November 01, 2008 01:46 PM | Football
Against Connecticut West Virginia scored 28 unanswered points, including 21 in the third quarter, to run its record to 6-2, 3-0, and snap Connecticut’s 11-game home winning streak.
“We didn’t do as well in the first half as I would have liked us to and credit that to UConn,” said West Virginia coach Bill Stewart. “I thought they banged us and played very tough, physical football.”
Connecticut, ranked 25th in this week’s BCS standings, stymied West Virginia’s offense in the first half and controlled the game with short passing and the running of Donald Brown, the nation’s No. 1-ranked rusher averaging 165.5 yards per game.
Brown got it going on Connecticut’s second possession of the game, ripping off runs of 11 and 12 yards to move the football to the West Virginia 32. Two plays later Brown got free for a 21-yard touchdown run – his league-leading 15th rushing TD of the year.
Connecticut (6-3, 2-2) expanded its lead to 10-0 with 22 seconds left in the first quarter when Dave Teggart punched one in from 36 yards. At that point the Mountaineer offense had just two first downs.
On the ensuing kickoff Mark Rodgers’ 44-yard return set up West Virginia at midfield. Two plays later on third and five at the Husky 35, White was able to complete a 14-yard pass to Jock Sanders for a first down at Connecticut 21. Eventually on third and goal at the Connecticut 24 after a penalty, a sack and a fumbled reverse moved the Mountaineers backwards, White managed to escape a Connecticut rush, get to the outside and outrun the Husky defense for a 24-yard touchdown. Pat McAfee’s PAT pulled the Mountaineers to within three.
Connecticut responded with a 10-play drive that took 4 ½ minutes off the clock and reached the Mountaineer 21 before stalling. From there Teggart nailed his second field goal of the game, a 38-yarder, to give the Huskies a 13-7 lead they took into the locker room at halftime.
“I thought we were pressing (in the first half) and some of the guys must have thought that we would come in here and charge right through them,” said Stewart.
At the start of the second half, Connecticut had a great opportunity to break open the game. After a Jordan Todman 9-yard run gave the Huskies a second and short at the 44, Connecticut had West Virginia’s defense set up for a big play. Quarterback Cody Endres called a play action pass and had Kashif Moore four steps behind West Virginia cornerback Brandon Hogan, but Moore was unable to hold onto the football at the WVU 10. A false start penalty on the next play pushed the ball back five yards, and Endres’ pass attempt to Ellis Gauldon on third and six fell incomplete.
From there things fell apart for Connecticut. Endres threw three interceptions and a Donald Brown fumble helped set up 28 unanswered points by the Mountaineers, which have now outscored their opponents 65-7 in the third quarter of games this season.
“I thought our defense was very tenacious and very opportunistic,” said Stewart. “I thought our defense turned the whole ballgame around.”
West Virginia took the lead with 6:13 remaining in the third quarter when Jock Sanders took a pass in the flat, eluded two tacklers, and got into the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown. The key play on the drive was a 34-yard pass to wide receiver Dorrell Jalloh on a wheel route; Jalloh was lined up at fullback in a new alignment offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen added to the offense this week.
A Brandon Hogan interception on Connecticut’s following possession set up another Sanders score. Beginning at the UConn 33, White found Jalloh for 16 yards to the 17. Two runs by Noel Devine and Sanders got the ball to the Husky three, where Sanders was able to slip in for his second touchdown. McAfee’s conversation gave West Virginia an eight-point lead.
The defense came up with another big play when Chris Neild was able to knock the ball out of Donald Brown’s arms and Scooter Berry picked up Brown’s fumble and returned the ball 19 yards to the Connecticut 21. Four plays later, Sanders was standing in the end zone once again after getting in from the three.
Endres’ second interception of the half set up WVU’s final score midway through the fourth quarter when a leaping Mortty Ivy was able to snag a deep pass down the seam and return it 19 yards to the West Virginia 40 with 5:34 remaining in the game.
Noel Devine’s 22-yard run set up the final score of the game when White took a designed quarterback draw 36 yards for a touchdown on a third-and-eight play.
“I was really pleased with our play in the red zone today,” said Stewart. “We scored every time at the end.”
Brandon Hogan put a cap on the afternoon with his second interception of the game. In addition to the five turnovers, the West Virginia defense managed to pitch a second-half shutout for the fourth time this year.
Pat White ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns and completed 11 of 18 passes for 121 yards and a score. White’s 109 yards on the ground was the second time this year he’s eclipsed the century mark on the ground and the senior also became just the second quarterback in NCAA history to reach the 4,000-yard mark in career rushing. White now shows 4,051 career yards and needs 239 more yards to break Brad Smith’s NCAA record of 4,289 yards for quarterbacks set in 2005 at Missouri.
“Pat White is the great winner in college football today,” said Stewart.
White also became the first player in WVU history to reach the 9,000-yard barrier in total offense on Saturday with his 230-yard performance against Connecticut and he now shows 9,143 yards for his career.
Jock Sanders accounted for 68 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns. Sanders has a team-best eight total touchdowns – seven receiving and one rushing. Noel Devine finished the afternoon with 60 yards rushing on 17 carries after just a four-carry, four-yard performance in the first half. Devine is closing in on the 1,000-yard mark for the season with 909 yards on just 132 carries.
Donald Brown finished the game with 82 yards on 19 rushes. It was the only time he has been held to less than 100 yards in a game this year.
Endres, a Trinity High School product in nearby Washington, Pa., completed 17 of 37 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns.
West Virginia is now 5-0 all-time against Connecticut including a 3-0 record at Rentschler Field.
Scoring Summary
UC – Brown 21 run (Teggart kick)
UC – Teggart 36 FG
WV – White 24 run (McAfee kick)
UC – Teggart 38 FG
WV – Sanders 6 pass from White (McAfee kick)
WV – Sanders 3 run (McAfee kick)
WV – Sanders 3 run (McAfee kick)
WV – White 36 run (McAfee kick)
